A Very Chocolate Party

We celebrated Rachel's birthday by having a big chocolate party (and it was very chocolaty).

It is a bit dark but we made a Happy Birthday sign for Rachel. And then the kids decorated it all crazy.  If you squint a bit, you might see that it says 'Happy Birthday'.

At the beginning of the party while we were waiting, we let the kids color a design for their own chocolate bar.

You can't really tell, but this is our chocolate hunt.  I hid like 150 pieces of candy all over and the kids had a blast.  There can never be too much chocolate.

This was a candy bar matching game.  (Not all the candy bars were chocolate though.   Shh...don't tell. The kids didn't seem to notice).  It is hard to find a variety of chocolate bars that aren't king size.

The kids split into two teams and rolled dice to try to get to eat some chocolate.  They had to use a knife and fork to eat it.

Poor Megan could never roll a six.  At the end we just let her eat some chocolate.

This whipping cream game was really fun to watch.  I hid about 50 mnms into each tub of whipped cream and the kids were suppose to find it.  Technically they were suppose to use their mouths, but most ended up using their hands after not very long.  They all got super messy and the whipped cream turned a shade of gray.

We made the mistake of letting all the kids work on their puzzles at the table.  So some of the pieces got a little mixed and made it more challenging.  After they finished their puzzles, they got to have their candy bars.

Then it was time for lunch.  I cooked some pizza and peeled some oranges (that was the healthy part).  We also let the kids dip things into melted chocolate.  Pretzels dipped into melted almond bark seemed to be the favorite.

Singing Happy Birthday; we used brownies instead of cake.

And the kids got to decorate their brownies.  I think the kids liked decorating their brownies more than eating them.  But oh well.

And baby Adam spent most of the time with Grandpa.  He was fascinated with Grandpa's Seahawks sweatshirt.

Not at the party but an awfully cute bunch of kids.

The party was great.  I get a little break until doing a Scooby Doo themed party for Whitney in March.  

New Years Celebrations

So Will took New Years Eve off from work and we decided to go somewhere fun as a family.  There isn't a lot of options around here for fun family time, but we picked going to the bounce house place in Hermiston.  We have been there one other time when Megan was a baby.

There were a fair amount of kids there, probably because it was school break.  But our girls got this bounce house to themselves for awhile.  I think that is how they prefer it.

Whitney climbing up the pirate ship bounce house.  It took Rachel and Megan a little longer, but they learned how to climb up those funny steps eventually.

Will encouraging.

Whitney on the rope swing.  This is the one that I think would be fun.  Swing for awhile and then just drop down on your back.

We had to wait and wait for the air hockey table, but the girls finally got a turn.  Whitney has played air hockey on some of her daddy daughter dates, so she is getting pretty good.  Rachel seemed to like it too.

And we put Adam on a slide.  He didn't seem to care or notice what was happening.  He is a pretty laid back baby.  Everyone tells us how calm he is and he really is, so that is most fortunate.

For New Years Eve evening there was a stake family dance.  We were one of the first ones there, so it only felt a little awkward to get on the gym floor and start dancing by ourselves.  

But we don't mind being a little awkward.  The children outnumber us so we have to take turns on who gets to hold whose hand and all that.  But it was never Will's and my turn to dance together. Oh well, maybe someday.

Eventually more people showed up.  This is Megan's friend, Asher, the little boy I use to babysit.  She was trying to give him a hug and he was trying to avoid it.  It was cute.

The stake celebration ended at 9:00, so we came home and watched a movie that we got for Christmas.  Can you guess what it was from the screen?  

Anyway, it was a fun day.  (And I got my New Years kiss).  Hopefully we will have a fabulous 2016!

A Very Merry Christmas

Like usual we were down in Pasco for Christmas.  We sure had a fun time.  I love spending time with my family.

This was at our Griggs sale.  We found our traditional table and benches so we could play games in between sales.  Will and I were able to get a cheap price on a 72 hour kit.

A little hard to tell but this is my sister Kaitlin trying to catch Megan after ding dong ditching some goodies at someone's door.  Two year olds are pretty quick.

We did our WalMart $3.37 shopping.  Adam got some socks and cookies.  Thanks Zach.

We did the Nativity story on Christmas Eve.  Guess who was a very realistic baby Jesus?  My three brothers were the three wise men.

Rachel and Whitney were sheep and a shepherd.  (Megan refused to be part of it but then wanted to dress up when everything was over.)

Here we are Christmas morning.  The stockings were a big hit.

Scooby Doo was most loved.  These toys were opened and played with immediately.  Thanks to everyone who gave us anything Scooby Doo related.  It has seen many miles already.

Here is Adam 'opening' his first present.

And inside his huge stocking.  He got baby food inside his.

My sister Kaitlin just entered the MTC.  My sister-in-law makes missionary nametags for work.  She made a special one for Kaitlin with her favorite scripture on the back.  That was neat.

We were lazy the rest of Christmas day - hanging out in pajamas and playing all our new games.  It was so fun.  I sure love Christmas time.

Birthdays and Trees

There is always so much going on throughout December.  We have two birthdays in our family and both were fun.

We always celebrate Will's and my dad's birthdays together.  They both had their own candles to blow out.

Will opening his presents.  

And my dad was 'helped' by three little girls.

We made a huge poster card for Will's actual birthday a couple of days later.  You can almost tell that it says 'Happy Birthday' under all the kids coloring.

There had to be balloons for Rachel's birthday a week later.  A balloon fight is birthday tradition. But I don't think a balloon stands much of a chance against a Christmas tree.

Rachel opening some presents.  She was excited about this elf hat costume.

Blowing out the candles.  My siblings from Utah were traveling down for Christmas this day so we were able to spend the afternoon with them also.  That made it extra fun.

And onto the Umatilla tree lighting ceremony.  The city mayor guy gave a speech and then they flipped the switch and everyone oohed and aahed over the pretty lights.

Then we quickly went in out of the cold and enjoyed cookies and apple cider.

Santa made an appearance.  We had to stand in a long, slow line for our turn.

Adam also got to sit on Santa's lap.

At the end of the ceremony they gave out awards for the Umatilla coloring contest.  Whitney got second place out of all the Kindergartners.  I thought that was pretty amazing.  She is a good colorer.  I guess all those hours of us coloring together have paid off.  Great Job Whitney!

So we have been having fun.

More Baby Pictures

So we do have a very, very cute baby.  And I know that we are a little biased, but others have told us he is awfully cute also.  We think we will keep him.

A couple of random baby pictures.  Megan tries to give him some loves.  She, unfortunately, stuffs the binky in too far and just makes things worse.  But at least she is trying.  And she is very gentle with the baby.

Whitney and Rachel really like to pose Adam in places and ask me to take a picture.  Here Adam "plays" our piano.

A little football player already.

I love little baby outfits; they are so adorable.  This onesie says 'Mommy's Little Monster'.

We surprised Will by bringing Adam to work so he could show off to his coworkers.  Everybody oohed and aahed over him.  

Adam takes a look at a toy from the Guptills.  Emily sent us a nice present, thanks for the gift.  Rachel and Megan really like this toy also; it plays music when you pull a string.  Adam looked at it for like five whole seconds.  In a couple of months he will probably love it.

Will's mom bought this blanket from Ruth; she made it herself.  I think it is beautiful and fun.

And this Mickey Mouse blanket was made by my mom.  It is good to get a 'boy' blanket since we had so much girl stuff beforehand.  Thanks for the blankets.  

Will's mom was able to come for a day.  Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling too good, so we didn't do much.  But we did get a picture of Adam with Grandma Keeler.  It was fun to see you for a little while.

Anyway, those are some more pictures of our cute baby.  He is doing really well - eats well and sleeps well.  What else can you ask from a newborn?